Friday, August 16, 2013

So, I have been following Sheaffer over at 'Pinterest Told Me To' for probably six months or so, and I absolutely LOVE her blog! She's turned me on to some great products! My closet loves her for it, but my wallet and my husband...not so much!

I've recently started buying things from Nordstrom, but we don't have a store in town, so I order most things online. I love that they have free shipping each way. It's such a huge thing for me since shopping is limited in this small town! I purchased William a pair of shoes during the anniversary sale, but they ended up being too small, so I needed to send them back.

I dreaded sending them back, because I thought I would have to pay the full price for the new shoes of $44.99 rather than the $29.00 that I paid for them during the sale. I chatted with one of the sales representatives online, and she was able to process my order via chat, get a new pair sent out to me at the price I paid and process my return.

All I have to do is put this box in the mail today, and I should get the new pair probably early next week! I'm SO happy with the customer service, and I'm completely sold on Nordstrom! I will definitely be shopping there more and more often!

Here are just a few of the things that I've recently purchased per recommendation from Sheaffer...

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Weston has a big fan of the movie(s) Cars/Cars 2 when he was 2, yet he seems to have outgrown it now that he's 3. He doesn't ask to watch it anymore, but when I saw that the movie Planes was coming out, I knew we had to go see it.

Grant and I both wanted to go with him, but we knew that William was too young to go to the movies at 7:30 PM, so we decided to get a babysitter for William and take Weston to the movies last Saturday night.

We had a blast with our big boy...we started off the evening with dinner at one of his favorite places, Wendy's, and afterwards, we went and saw the movie. I had a coupon for free popcorn, so he was able to get popcorn at the movies. After the movie, we wrapped up our evening with a vanilla ice cream cone at Dairy Queen.

It was a wonderful night with one of the coolest three year old's I know, and I'm so grateful for opportunities like this with our little guys. I'm looking forward to being able to have a similar night with William when he gets a little bigger.

And on another note...this is what this little guy is up to lately!I know I'm totally biased since he's my kid, but this is too cute, and I can't believe he's growing up so quickly!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

So, I'll be 30 in eight months, and it's SO hard to believe that it's going to be here before I know it! I seriously feel like my birthday was just yesterday, but it's already been almost four months since my birthday!

I've come up with a list of things that I want to do before I'm 30, so I'm sharing it with you all, and I'll share my updates/accomplishments on the blog as I complete them!

1.) Run a 5K Color Run --> Planned for October 5th in Augusta
2.) Take a romantic, tropical vacation with my husband --> Planning for Spring 2014 for my 30th and our 5th Wedding Anniversary
3.) Throw a party for my 30th birthday
4.) Host a Christmas party at our home
5.) Run a 10K
6.) Own a pair of Tory Burch flats
7.) Own a MK bag
8.) Decide where Weston will go to Pre-K/Kindergarten --> So, I know that this isn't big and not really related to me, but this is an area that I'm agonizing over! Please pray for me during this decision!
9.) Have a "Red Cup Day" with my mom and sister
10.) Lose weight and tone up...get back where I want/need to be for me! I'm working hard on this one! :)
11.) Meal plan, meal plan, meal plan...be better about planning our weekly meals!
12.) Take more photos of my kids and family
13.) Plan a trip to NYC with my mom and sister --> We've been talking about this for awhile!
14.) Have a girl's trip with friends --> Scheduled for St. Augustine this upcoming weekend! Woohoo!
15.) Have a spa day and get a massage/facial
16.) Finish painting all the rooms of our house
17.) Get a screened porch installed
18.) Get gutters put on our house...we have a serious problem with rain run off and no gutters! :(
19.) Have professional family photo's taken --> Scheduled for September 28th
20.) Make plans for my future and take action to get there...
21.) Change my name on my passport!
22.) Take the kids to a UGA Football game
23.) Have a monthly date night with Grant...it could be inside or outside of the home!
24.) Schedule my work-outs and stick to them!
25.) Train for a 1/2 marathon...not sure I'll be able to squeeze running one before my birthday in, but I'm going to train and plan to run in one sometime next Spring.
26.) Finish decorating my home
27.) Organize the boy's artwork/schoolwork
28.) Go to a shooting range
29.) Own a gun
30.) Finish Beachbody's Body Pump program --> In progress. Currently in week 2.

So, that's it...I have a lot to get done before 30, but I think I can get it done! Wish me luck, and I'll update and post pictures throughout the process!

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

It's been busy around here over the past few months, and I just put the blog on hold, again! It's always the first thing to go when things get crazy, but I always miss it when I'm not writing and sharing about our days.

So, I'm ready to pick it back up and share a little piece of our lives with all of you! For today, I'm going to share a few tidbits of our lives since I last posted...in January! Yikes!

1.) We celebrated Weston's 3rd birthday in January
2.) I spent a weekend away in Hilton Head with my mom and sister in February
3.) We went to the Jake Owen, Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean concert at Stanford Stadium in April
4.) I turned 29 in April...
5.) Grant and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary in May
6.) We spend a weekend in Atlanta with Grant's entire family!
7.) We spent a week in Naples, FL with my entire family!
8.) Grant and I spent the weekend together in Hilton Head Island, SC for the GA Foresty Association Conference
9.) The boys spent an entire week and weekend with Gram & Gramps and Nana & Papa Jay

We've stayed really busy, and we've enjoyed lots of visits with family, spending time with friends and lots of travel! The boys are growing up fast and Weston started his first day of Pre-K yesterday! I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things!!

Monday, January 14, 2013

So, I'm back for Week 2 with The Java Mama, and it's been a pretty good week. I was able to hit the gym four times this week, and I attended Boot Camp and Kettlebells classes. I am LOVING kettlebells! It is seriously the best work-out with a combination of strength and cardio.

If you don't know anything about Kettlebells, check them out here. Seriously, if you've never tried Kettlebells, I suggest you find somewhere that you can try a class. I'm completely hooked! It's definitely my new fitness love!

I also was able to run on Sunday, and I enjoyed that. We've had a few days of sickness at our house, so I enjoyed being able to get it all off my mind and have some time for myself. Also, Grant was hunting all day on Saturday since it was the last day of the season, so I needed some time to get away!

Here are my results from week 1...I've lost three pounds! Yay! While I had hoped to lose weight more quickly, and I've done well with eating all week, I'm happy with three pounds, and I am excited about this upcoming week. I've done my meal planning and food prepping, so I'm ready for a great week!

I'll let you know next week. Also, thanks for all the encouragement last week! I've also started a FB page called Busy Mommy Gets Healthy and Fit. Check it out! I'd love to have you join me on this journey!

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

We have been so incredibly blessed in our move from Athens to Brunswick with amazing friends that have kids who are close in age to Weston and William. We invited friends over for New Year's Eve, and we ended up having five couples (10 adults) and nine kids ranging in age from 9 months to 6 years, so it was a blast!

The kids truly enjoyed themselves with the sparklers and party blowers! They were a riot! And to see the awe and amazement at the sparklers was just so very cool!

The men enjoyed a nice break and were able to sit in our dining room and
enjoy a quiet dinner while the ladies tended to the kids. They took
over and gave us a break too! :)

Those three couldn't get enough of the sparklers! They were all pretty bummed when we ran out, but it was great. They loved them, and we found that we had two left after everyone left, so we are going to let Weston light them one evening. He'll love it!

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Why yes, it's 8 days into 2013, and I'm just now getting around to posting about Christmas. It was a different Christmas for us, but it was thoroughly enjoyed by all. The only thing missing was my sister and brother in law. It was the first Christmas ever that my sister and I haven't been together on Christmas Eve and/or Day, so it was pretty emotional for us. We missed them a lot, and we hope that we are all together next Christmas!

William eating his cookie that he decorated for Santa! Oops!

My mom and dad came down the Friday before Christmas, and my mom and I went down to St. Augustine with the boys so Santa (Grant and my dad) could build our play set in the backyard. It took a lot longer than they anticipated, but the boys both love it.

Weston hard at work decorating cookies! :)

Sunday before Christmas we came back from St. Augustine late in the evening, and we all headed to bed. On Christmas Eve, my mom and I took the kids grocery shopping, we made 'Cookies for Santa', and my mom and Weston went to see Monsters Inc. while the guys finished up the play set. Afterward, we had planned to go to the Christmas Eve service at church, but I messed up the times, and we showed up after it had started and the place was packed. There was no where to sit!! So, we came back home and ate Christmas Dinner together. The boys went to bed, Santa came, and we all went to bed.

William using the sprinkles!

Tuesday morning was something that I can't even explain in words...it was nothing short of amazing. To see the awe and joy on Weston's face was just awesome, and we loved every second of it. It was a perfect Christmas morning, and I'm SO grateful that my parents were able to come down and spend the holidays at our house.

Now, on to some more pictures...warning picture overload!!

Weston's finished product! Before we removed all the excess sprinkles!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Hi All! I've decided to link up with Becky at 'The Java Mama' on Monday's and join in on the Biggest Loser blogger challenge! She posted a summary of her weight loss journey to get things started, so here's mine...

I don't remember thinking much about my body in middle or high school or wanting/needing to lose weight. I got to college, and I didn't know how to cook and eat for myself, so I ultimately ended up gaining weight. I was asked once if I was expecting, and I knew that I needed to lose weight. For Christmas one year, my mom gave me a subscription to Weight Watcher's magazine, as well as, a pass for weight watchers, and I started going. I lost all the weight plus more, and I was SO motivated. I maintained that weight give or take five pounds until Weston was born. After he was born, I stayed about 3-5 lbs above what I was before I got pregnant, but I was happy for the most part with my weight. Fast forward to Baby #2, William was born, and I never really lost any weight. It just didn't happen. I started to exercise some as much as I had time for, but I was exhausted, and I didn't have the motivation. After William stopped breastfeeding in September 2012, I thought I was going to be able to lose weight quickly, and I'd pick up the pace with eating and working out. NOT! I've since gained 5 lbs! Ugh!

So, needless to say, I need some motivation and encouragement to lose some weight and maintain. Today is Day #1 and 2013 is my year! I'm excited, and I'm going to make a life change! I'm not going to post my current weight, because I'm SO embarrassed, but I will say that I'd like to lose 35 pounds over the next year.

Here is today...it was the best I could find, because I tend to stay out of photos right now!

Here are some motivation photos...this is what I want to get back to! :)

Friday, January 4, 2013

Weston absolutely loved Santa Clause this year, and he talked about him all the time! We had a great experience with him telling Santa that he wanted trucks for Christmas. It was wonderful, and I loved experiencing Christmas through his eyes this year.

William on the other hand didn't even like Mrs. Clause. He screamed and cried and screamed some more! Here are some photos from our visit.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Sorry for the belated posting...I have lots of pictures and things to catch up on from the past few months; however, I've been locked out of my gmail account for the past month, because I got a new computer and had my username saved, well, I forgot my username. I finally figured it out, and I'm back for a great year!

Welcome to Our Home

Welcome to Our Blog

I am a full-time wife and mommy, with a full-time job outside of the home. I was born and raised in Georgia.
I married the love of my life, Grant in May 2009, and we celebrated the birth of our first son, Weston James in January 2010. The birth of William Thomas followed in September 2011.
Here you can follow me as I ramble about life as a wife and a mother and all things related...this is the story of our lives!